Comments Thread For: Erislandy Lara: De La Hoya Knows Canelo Got a Gift!

[Banderivets]

Lara won the fight, but Canelo was the champ and took on a challenger who should have done more...

I'm kind of glad it happened as maybe it will push other fighters to be more aggressive...

He's no Rigo, Rigo "runs" but he is landing on the other guy all day, he doesn't let the other guy walk him down, he doesn't let the other guy land on him...so this is very different.

Here you had a case of Canelo actually getting to Lara but Lara settling for "just enough" and that got him punished. What was with the corner saying "keep doing the same thing"....thats what bit them in the ass. You are the challenger with a chance of a lifetime and all you did was try to win on points by doing just enough, which he did but...

Still Canelo is limited in my eyes...his footwork needs work, he needs a new corner, he doesn't want to get rid of his guys but I think he could benefit from new training. He has the power and the volume punching, and can take a hit but with better training I can easily see him go up in "video game rankings" a solid 8 points.

[BoxPrep]

Everyone deserves a fair shake. But life ain't fair, and boxing is even less so. All real men know that. Lara's received some raw deals, I agree; but I know what I sense from this guy, and I don't like it. He was humble as sheep when he asked Canelo for a payday. It was actually embarrassing. The moment he got the fight, Lara started with the nastiness. I defended him for a long time, thinking a lot of it came from DeCubas (which I'm sure some did), but it continued from Lara's own mouth. He even had the hubris to suggest that he did better than Floyd Mayweather against Alvarez. It's just too much now. Lara and his team need to just shut the fuck up and get back to business. Maybe if Lara learns some humility and does what's expected of him he won't lose any more fans, because I'm sure he lost a few of the already little he had after this whole affair.

This is true, but Gamboa wasn't talking ish leading up to the bout, and he fought like a warrior in an important fight. He didn't make excuses and blamed himself for everything that happened.

And, as you say, Lara lost a debatable decision. They're really pushing the robbery angle, and that ****** 117-111 score is giving them ammo.

I addressed this in Cuathe's thread.... since when does talking decide whether a fight is won or lost? Canelo was talking reckless leading up to the fight as well and he and his team were saying they would get the KO... but he didn't. Why didn't Canelo go for broke the way Angulo did and take punches to give his own and turn it into a brawl? It's not Lara's fault the guy doesn't know how to cutoff a ring or throw punches while walking down his opponent.

All I'm saying is don't get swindled by those by saying Lara "needed to do more".... canelo isn't even a titleholder! Canelo threw less punches than Trout did against Lara and only threw two more than Lara per round. So you think it's okay that canelo just followed Lara around the ring all night staring at him instead of forcing him to fight by throwing something?

I can't agree with you on this. I wanted to see an exciting fight that had insane build-up over the years, but I'm not letting what 'he-said, she-said' jade my view of what actually took place in the ring.

[BoxPrep]

I agree 100%. I understand the phenomena. I can't say I have any celebrity friends, but I've worked around and come into contact with many. A little bubble develops, and people start to lose touch with reality. I don't doubt that some of that is happening with Lara. But I was really referring to the arrogance and nastiness I'm detecting in him. I don't get that from Gamboa, for instance. I don't know what Lara is normally like, but it's tough to get behind a guy like that.

Speaking of Yuri, he got a lot more sympathy in defeat than Lara. Gamboa didn't talk all kinds of trash before the Crawford fight. He fought his heart out and got KTFO. Afterwards, he was humble, despite his cocky persona. And when people started criticizing his team, especially his father, for his loss, Yuri stepped up and defended them. He accepted full responsibility for the loss. Lara has been almost the polar opposite.

Gamboa wasn't chasing Crawford for 2-3 years begging for a fight. Crawford wasn't, and to a degree still isn't, being crowned the next best thing in boxing -- especially without having proved it against the best in his weight class. These are two completely different scenarios. Let's not forget about the Rios debacle and the most recent with Garcia.

[-PBP-]

I addressed this in Cuathe's thread.... since when does talking decide whether a fight is won or lost? Canelo was talking reckless leading up to the fight as well and he and his team were saying they would get the KO... but he didn't. Why didn't Canelo go for broke the way Angulo did and take punches to give his own and turn it into a brawl? It's not Lara's fault the guy doesn't know how to cutoff a ring or throw punches while walking down his opponent.

All I'm saying is don't get swindled by those by saying Lara "needed to do more".... canelo isn't even a titleholder! Canelo threw less punches than Trout did against Lara and only threw two more than Lara per round. So you think it's okay that canelo just followed Lara around the ring all night staring at him instead of forcing him to fight by throwing something?

I can't agree with you on this. I wanted to see an exciting fight that had insane build-up over the years, but I'm not letting what 'he-said, she-said' jade my view of what actually took place in the ring.

With me , I don't personally think he needed to do more. I scored it 115-113 for him. He did enough to win in my eyes.

But, the way boxing works, when you're fighting a cash cow who gets the top billing, you have to win 9 rounds just for a shot at a split decision victory. It's not fair but that's the way it is. Lara now has 4 controversial losses/draws. When will he learn that landing 5 punches and running away to protect your lead won't win you a professional prize fight? Especially against the money guy.

[CubanGuyNYC]

I addressed this in Cuathe's thread.... since when does talking decide whether a fight is won or lost? Canelo was talking reckless leading up to the fight as well and he and his team were saying they would get the KO... but he didn't. Why didn't Canelo go for broke the way Angulo did and take punches to give his own and turn it into a brawl? It's not Lara's fault the guy doesn't know how to cutoff a ring or throw punches while walking down his opponent.

You answered your own question. Canelo couldn't go for broke because Lara was moving non-stop and Alvarez was unable -- unable, mind you, not unwilling -- to corral him. And as far as I can remember, Canelo was reacting to Landy's trash talk before, during and after the fight was signed.

All I'm saying is don't get swindled by those by saying Lara "needed to do more".... canelo isn't even a titleholder! Canelo threw less punches than Trout did against Lara and only threw two more than Lara per round. So you think it's okay that canelo just followed Lara around the ring all night staring at him instead of forcing him to fight by throwing something?

I can't agree with you on this. I wanted to see an exciting fight that had insane build-up over the years, but I'm not letting what 'he-said, she-said' jade my view of what actually took place in the ring.

Once again, Lara was as elusive as can be. Landy defended nicely and made Canelo miss a lot, but there were also times Saul swung wildly simply because he couldn't catch up to Landy's quicker footwork. I would bet every cent I've ever earned that Alvarez would've been more than happy to exchange with Lara in the middle of the ring...but something tells me Landy wouldn't have approved of that idea.

And we can agree to disagree. Yes, Lara needed to do more. Are we going to sit here and debate the "fairness" or "unfairness" of that? Of course it's not fair. But that's the way it is. That's life. It's not fair that few are born into vast wealth while billions are born into abject poverty either, is it? Anyone -- anyone -- that's been around boxing long enough knows what time it is. Canelo isn't champ, but he's something far more important. He's the *golden goose*. You've got to beat his ass. Lara didn't do that. I thought Landy won, but he didn't tax dat ass. He'll have plenty of time to lament that as he goes back to earning a fraction of the purse he made for the Canelo fight.

[BoxPrep]

With me , I don't personally think he needed to do more. I scored it 115-113 for him. He did enough to win in my eyes.

But, the way boxing works, when you're fighting a cash cow who gets the top billing, you have to win 9 rounds just for a shot at a split decision victory.

This is exactly the problem, though... and as long as people keep thinking this way, it'll continue. Unfortunately.

[CubanGuyNYC]

With me , I don't personally think he needed to do more. I scored it 115-113 for him. He did enough to win in my eyes.

But, the way boxing works, when you're fighting a cash cow who gets the top billing, you have to win 9 rounds just for a shot at a split decision victory. It's not fair but that's the way it is. Lara now has 4 controversial losses/draws. When will he learn that landing 5 punches and running away to protect your lead won't win you a professional prize fight? Especially against the money guy.

And this, my friend, more than anything else, is what drives me absolutely insane. Lara has taken the shaft without lube several times already. Then he turns around and does the same fuuucking thing versus the #3 PPV fighter in boxing? Does he belong on the short bus, this kid? Does his team have to ride with him? They're all dolts. Fuck 'em all. My last shred of sympathy died right at this very moment.

[CubanGuyNYC]

This is exactly the problem, though... and as long as people keep thinking this way, it'll continue. Unfortunately.

You don't understand, man. We're not agreeing with it. We're not saying it's right. We're saying those are the unwritten rules. We're saying that you have to understand the system before you can beat it. Lara and his handlers have refused to acknowledge the realities of professional boxing. And they lost, in part, because of this failure.

[-PBP-]

Lara had a 4-2 lead. He could have kept the heat on and made a statement. Canelo couldn't touch him and he was landing anything he wanted. But he stopped fighting like he was trying to protect his lead.

How can you have any sympathy for him?

Yeah he got cut but so what? He fought p-will with a golf ball on his forehead and came back from 2 kds to finish off Angulo.

[BoxPrep]

You answered your own question. Canelo couldn't go for broke because Lara was moving non-stop and Alvarez was unable -- unable, mind you, not unwilling -- to corral him. And as far as I can remember, Canelo was reacting to Landy's trash talk before, during and after the fight was signed.



Once again, Lara was as elusive as can be. Landy defended nicely and made Canelo miss a lot, but there were also times Saul swung wildly simply because he couldn't catch up to Landy's quicker footwork. I would bet every cent I've ever earned that Alvarez would've been more than happy to exchange with Lara in the middle of the ring...but something tells me Landy wouldn't have approved of that idea.

And we can agree to disagree. Yes, Lara needed to do more. Are we going to sit here and debate the "fairness" or "unfairness" of that? Of course it's not fair. But that's the way it is. That's life. It's not fair that few are born into vast wealth while billions are born into abject poverty either, is it? Anyone -- anyone -- that's been around boxing long enough knows what time it is. Canelo isn't champ, but he's something far more important. He's the *golden goose*. You've got to beat his ass. Lara didn't do that. I thought Landy won, but he didn't tax dat ass. He'll have plenty of time to lament that as he goes back to earning a fraction of the purse he made for the Canelo fight.

I didn't answer my own question... canelo was unwilling to engage with Lara. There were several times in that fight where Lara stood directly in front of Canelo or leaned against the ropes and they stared at each other until Lara tagged him with something or rolled under a wide haymaker or partially blocked something. Great, Lara talked trash first and Canelo talked trash second, astute observation.

If Angulo can cutoff the ring against Lara, so can Canelo. Canelo was able to avoid Angulo's pressure throughout most of their fight so can't say he was unable because he's physically able -- canelo doesn't know how to apply effective pressure, and he's not willing to take punishment to dish it.

Canelo is more than willing to trade only if he's getting the better of it. He rarely even engaged against Angulo -- opting to move around most the night. He was hesitant to let his hands go because Lara was tagging him, beating him to the punch when there were times to engage. If he couldn't feel his power like he stated in to post-fight presser, he would have had zero repect for Lara's punches and taken whatever he threw to beat Lara up. Not to mention, you play to your strengths in boxing.... When has Lara ever been considered a brawler or inside fighter? Okay then.

But to sit here and say he needed to do more when he already had done more than enough and proved he was the better fighter, that night, convincingly.... Anybody claiming that Lara "needed to do more" is stanning or giving more power to an unwritten rule.